WMVY Struggling To Stay In Business

November 27, 2012 at 10:17 AM (PT)

Triple A WMVY (MVYRADIO)/MARTHA'S VINEYARD TODAY (11/27) announced a capital campaign to support the transfer of MVYRADIO’s programming and most of its assets from ARITAUR COMMUNICATIONS to the non-profit FRIENDS OF MVYRADIO, with the goal of becoming a fully listener-supported, non-commercial public radio station. The station, synonymous with the island for nearly three decades, will attempt to stay alive as an Internet streaming station with the goal of returning some day to the FM dial.

The move will demand significant seed funding, requiring FRIENDS OF MVYRADIO to raise $600,000 by the end of JANUARY, 2013. Without the necessary funds, MVYRADIO will cease to exist. This begins with the sale of WMVY's 92.7 FM signal to BOSTON UNIVERSITY NPR station WBUR, which will simulcast its own programming. The sale is pending FCC approval. FRIENDS OF MVYRADIO is also soliciting for pledges rather than donations to reach its goal.

"In recent years, MVYRADIO has struggled financially, but ARITAUR has covered our losses and kept us on the air," said BARBARA DACEY, Dir./Worldwide Programming. "We are immensely grateful, but they could not support the debt indefinitely. Our listeners have always been passionate about the station and we believe want us to save MVYRADIO as a commercial-free, listener supported operation. The future is bright but it will take the support of our fans to make it happen."

PD PJ FINN said, "This is no longer a hypothetical. We will need all of our listeners to dig in and save this gem. Falling short means the end for one of the last independent radio holdings in the country, and for its much-loved programming."